3 things that stood out to Eberflus in Week 17 win
After watching tape of Sunday’s 37-17 win over the Falcons, Bears coach Matt Eberflus discussed three things that stood out to him in the victory:
(1) Eberflus praised receiver DJ Moore’s performance, especially his ability to track the ball in the snow.
The talented wideout caught a game-high nine passes for 159 yards and one touchdown, including catches of 32, 32, 28 and 23 yards.
“What I recognize watching the tape is how strong he is,” Eberflus said Monday. “His contact balance is unbelievable. What you recognize from that tape is his ability to track the football. You see some of the those catches over the shoulder. We all rewatched them. It’s just pretty amazing how he can track that football, especially in the snow. I had a hard time seeing it. I had my gameplan up, the snow was coming down, I could barely see the field. Not sure how he tracked the ball during that weather, but man, it’s something else and he’s a special guy.
Impressive performances on both sides of the ball Sunday enabled the Bears to record their fifth win in their last seven games. The offense produced four touchdowns and the defense generated four takeaways, all on interceptions.
“I thought it was good complementary football by the whole group,” Eberflus said. “I really believe that our guys are coming together at the end here, which is really cool to see. We’re playing our best football in December leading into January, which I think is important for our future.”
Since falling to 3-8 with a loss to the Lions Nov. 19, the Bears are 4-1. They hope to finish the season with another victory Sunday when they visit the Packers.
“The guys are continuing to have their eyes forward and being locked in for this particular week, which is Packers week, to finish out the season,” Eberflus said.
(3) Eberflus marveled at quarterback Justin Fields’ playmaking skills.
The third-year pro displayed his dual-threat ability, passing for 268 yards and one touchdown and rushing for 45 yards and one TD.
One play that stood out to Eberflus came in the third quarter when Fields remarkably eluded three pass rushers and scrambled for 13 yards on third-and-8.
“How he got out of that, I’m not sure,” Eberflus said. “Like DJ said, Houdini. That was pretty cool. He continues to throw the ball down the field with accuracy, which is really cool. He’s done that his whole career, we’re just taking more shots now.”
Fields’ best throw of the game may have been on a pass deep down the middle to rookie Tyler Scott, who dove for the ball in the end zone but was unable to secure it with a defender draped on his back.
“It’s too bad that Scott couldn’t come down with that one catch,” Eberflus said. “I think it was a really good play, and I thought he had it. He thought he tracked it well and I think as contact was made, I just think that it knocked his other arm off of there from the safety there, but really good throw on that one, too.”
In six starts since returning from a dislocated right thumb that forced him to miss four contests, Fields has passed for 1,213 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions—two of which came on Hail Mary throws at the end of both halves in a Dec. 17 loss to the Browns.
“We love where his progress is,” Eberflus said. “He’s been more consistent. We like what he’s done the last six games in terms of the turnovers, the sacks, touchdowns, taking care of the football, throwing the ball down the field.”
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